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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28672698">On the Protection of Courageous Men</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowhuntingdauntlessdemigod/pseuds/shadowhuntingdauntlessdemigod'>shadowhuntingdauntlessdemigod</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>And it is happy to watch and protect them that's it, Eldritch Bunker - Freeform, Eldritch Creature Men of Letters Bunker (Supernatural), Episode: s15e20 Carry On, Family, Gen, Nightmares, Platonic Soulmates, The bunker loves the Winchesters okay, bunker pov, half of this is a tag to, the bunker knows the Winchesters are</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:27:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,820</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28672698</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowhuntingdauntlessdemigod/pseuds/shadowhuntingdauntlessdemigod</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Bunker quickly recognized that the Winchesters were unlike any of the men that had previously resided in the Bunker. It could feel the energy between them, a form of cosmic electricity that sparked like nothing had before. It created a warmth the Bunker had never felt, and was keen to understand the reasoning behind, though for the moment It was content to bask in the proverbial sunlight.</p><p>Or: the Bunker muses on how the Winchesters, whose voices fill the halls when they yell that food is ready, whose books lie open on library tables and desks and kitchen counters, and whose car has taken up permanent residence in the garage, are the most courageous men It has ever had the pleasure of protecting.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>On the Protection of Courageous Men</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Welcome to the first story of 2021! So far this year has been following in 2020's garbage footsteps, so it's only fitting that I post an angsty story to get things going :D In all seriousness, the first half of this story is safe and relatively angst-free, but the second half does follow some events of 15x20, including the aftermath of a hinted at but not explicitly explained *in this story* character death so...you have been warned for spoilers! If you haven't seen the finale, you're safe to read up until the line break! I hope you enjoy! </p><p>I still don't own anything, not even the finale, which still leaves me teary-eyed every time I rewatch it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Bunker liked Its humans. In time, that would extend to an angel and a nephilim as well, but they were brought in by the humans, which was what mattered. It wasn’t that they created the Bunker, no, not even that they warded it and unintentionally created a semi-sentient structure. The Bunker didn’t like the humans as a form of gratitude, that wasn’t right. If the Bunker had true human emotions, they would more lie within the realm of respect and eventually care for the creatures within its walls. It was their lives that the Bunker was privy to and would try to make as comfortable as possible within its limited abilities.</p><p>The Men of Letters were an extraordinary society. Their knowledge was unparalleled and they spent many years safe within the Bunker’s walls looking for ways to help the world. It was a noble cause (though, as the Bunker would later find, not the most noble. That honor was saved for the Winchesters).</p><p>The Bunker protected them and they protected It in return. They would spend countless hours researching, often falling asleep under lamps and across desks. When that would happen, the Bunker would wait before clicking off the light, ensuring them a more restful sleep. They couldn’t save the world if they were tired, now could they?</p><p>They usually left a few at a time and always came back before much time had passed. The Bunker was lulled by their continued conversation and the warmth they spread through the halls.</p><p>One fateful day, they all left, and the Bunker waited for their return. It hadn’t been quiet in…not that the Bunker could remember precisely, more that It wasn’t familiar with the quiet in the rooms and the chill in the air. It watched as the clocks spun and spun and the lights on the boards flashed on and off.</p><p>The Bunker waited. And waited. And waited.</p><p>It watched the coffee evaporate out of cups and tried in vain to keep dust from settling on the jackets thrown over chairs and game of chess that had been left unfinished.</p><p>It was so unbearably quiet. At times the Bunker would click the heater on to feel some form of warmth, but it was nothing compared to the glow of the humans’ souls as they wandered the halls.</p><p>Years passed. The Bunker finally stopped waiting. It shut off the lights one by one, resigned to a lonely slumber in the cold.</p><p>And then the doors opened and two tall men stepped in. They flipped the lights on and looked in awe at all the Bunker had to offer them.</p><p>The Bunker didn’t know how long It had spent in the dark. It only knew that now, humans were back to carry on the mission and they had brought the light and warmth with them.</p><p>The Bunker quickly recognized that the two men, Sam and Dean Winchester, were unlike any of the men that had previously resided in the Bunker. It could feel the energy between them, a form of cosmic electricity that sparked like nothing had before. It created a warmth the Bunker had never felt, and was keen to understand the reasoning behind, though for the moment It was content to bask in the proverbial sunlight.</p><p>Though it was just the two of them, they filled the Bunker. Dean had a tendency to yell across the halls when food was ready. Sam left books open on the kitchen table, in the library, and scattered throughout his room. Bullet casings littered the floor of the shooting range. Parts for a classic Chevrolet Impala found homes in drawers in the garage.</p><p>The Winchesters were everywhere.</p><p>The first time they both left, the Bunker creaked with anticipation. They planned to return, It knew, but so had the Men of Letters.</p><p>Thankfully, the clocks only completed four rotations before they were back. Blood covered their jackets, but they were smiling.</p><p>That was when the Bunker truly found out about courageous men. The Winchesters didn’t just sit and research ways to fix the world, they went out and did it. They did the research <em>and</em> got rid of the problems. They put themselves in harm’s way so others wouldn’t have to.</p><p>The Bunker’s lights glowed a little warmer with that realization.</p><p>Over the years, the only time the lights cooled was when one brother was without the other. Sometimes the reasons were unclear, but there was always a palpable shift in energy when one was alone after some set of negative circumstances. Sometimes it was anger, and sometimes it was worse. Sometimes it was a longing the Bunker could feel in its core; one soul lost and crying out for the other.</p><p>In those moments, the Bunker did what It could. The air flowed more directly from one brother’s room to the other. The coffee maker always worked, the files were alphabetized to perfection, and the temperature within Its walls never wavered.</p><p>The Bunker couldn’t do much, but It liked to believe that It was helping.</p>
<hr/><p>Both of the Winchester brothers were prone to nightmares. The Bunker had overheard many over the years, and many conversations to go along with them. It had some inkling as to the sacrifices the men had made for the world and each other. With that much trauma, it was a wonder either of them were functioning at all.</p><p>The nightmares were always worse when one brother was absent. The Bunker couldn’t directly wake them, hold them, offer placations, make jokes, or sit in silent understanding like the humans could.</p><p>Sam Winchester’s nightmares started three days after he returned without Dean, the first day he actually slept. It was more of an unconscious state than real rest. The Bunker could feel Sam’s heartbroken, grieving energy just under the surface.</p><p>When Sam began twitching in his sleep and calling out for his brother, the Bunker was helpless to provide comfort. When his tears stained the pillows, the Bunker couldn’t offer a tissue. It couldn’t send Dean running down the hallways like he would have done already when he heard Sam’s nightmare progressing to this point.</p><p>When Sam stayed locked in his tortured state, the Bunker couldn’t wake him.</p><p>It did know, however, that heat sometimes assisted in relaxing the younger Winchester in a nightmarish situation. He had never tolerated the cold as well as Dean, though the Bunker was still unclear on the reasons why.</p><p>So, the Bunker did what It could. The air vents silently changed direction, blowing air from Dean’s room directly into Sam’s instead of into the hallway to recirculate. The heat clicked on and slowly filled the room until it was a comfortable few degrees above the outside.</p><p>The air just so happened to push open Sam’s door a little, leaving a crack that Miracle could slip through so that he could join Sam on the bed. The Bunker had been opposed to the dog at first—dust was hard enough to keep off the shelves, but thousands of tiny, irritating hairs were another bother altogether—until It saw the joy Miracle brought the brothers. Eventually, the Bunker came to relish the click clack of the dog’s claws on Its hard floor, a feeling and sound unlike anything the Bunker had experienced before.</p><p>With the changes made, the energy in the room settled, but it was still far from normal. Sam hadn’t spoken since he returned, so the Bunker had no inkling as to what had happened. But It knew from Its own experience with loss just what losing the most important element to something’s existence could do to a creature.</p><p>Sam had never been the louder brother. But the quiet he brought with him was entirely different than what he had wrapped himself in before. The sense of curiosity and anticipation that naturally flowed around the younger Winchester had dulled to being almost imperceptible, even to the Bunker’s delicate energy sensors.</p><p>He no longer read books at the library tables. He would sit in a chair and stare at the initials that he and his brother had lovingly and painstakingly carved into the wood (the Bunker hadn’t even minded being defaced, not one bit, not when the names meant so much to the Winchesters and the Bunker itself). He no longer sat for hours typing on his computer, or watching comedy movies that would make Dean laugh out loud, the sound bouncing off every inch of the tile and concrete walls.</p><p>He seldom went into Dean’s room, and when he did, he never touched anything. The Bunker kept the room spotless, free of dust and bugs, and left everything just as Dean had.</p><p>Until one day when the Bunker felt an old phone buzzing in Dean’s desk. Sam answered it and something in his demeanor changed. The longing, depressed energy still radiated from Sam’s soul, but there was a slight spark of purpose too, the Bunker could tell. It could do so mainly because that spark had been noticeably absent as of late.</p><p>The Bunker watched as Sam began packing a bag, something the Bunker had seen him and his brother do on many occasions. Only…he wasn’t packing what he normally did. He pulled out his wooden box from under the bed that the Bunker kept extra protected and put it in the duffel that he had taken from Dean’s room. He added a few books, pictures, and things for the dog. His laptop and Dean’s jacket were last. He didn’t hesitate before turning out the light and leaving his room.</p><p>Sam did, however, stop by Dean’s door. He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, as if it could fill the entire Bunker. Then he turned off Dean’s light too.</p><p>The Bunker watched as Sam walked through the library, past the table with the initials, past the map table where his family had spent so many hours, and made his way up the stairs with Miracle at his heels.</p><p>He paused at the top of the crow’s nest and looked out over the Bunker. There was a sense of finality to his gaze, a brokenness to his soul that the Bunker knew It couldn’t fix. And yet, It desperately wanted to try. It wanted to continue being a home for the Winchesters, to shelter them so they could save the world, to listen to their late night conversations, to watch their relationship ebb and flow under Its roof.</p><p>It didn’t want to be dark and alone.</p><p>It wanted a purpose.</p><p>And in that, the Bunker could empathize with Sam Winchester.</p><p>So the Bunker let the door unlock, let Sam flick out the lights one by one, and tried not to shudder too noticeably when Sam closed the door behind him, once again leaving the Bunker in a state of uncertainty, waiting for someone to bring the light and warmth back.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Not going to lie, I was a little on the fence about posting this, since the POV is a bit strange and outside my wheelhouse, but after reading some other wonderful Eldritch Bunker stories and getting some cheerleading from some friends, here we are! If you have a second to leave feedback, be it good, constructive criticism, a series of emojis, etc, I'd be super grateful for some bright spots in this messy year. Stay safe and healthy! I'll be back with more stories in no time ;)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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